From Monster to Hero
by meteorflame
Summary: Garou's life ended without his achieving his goals as a monster. But right before he dies, he is reminded, that perhaps that was never his true dream at all. One doesn't always get a second chance, but after his death, he is transported to another world. One in dire need... of a true hero. [OP Garou. Contains spoilers from webcomic. ]


**Prologue**

__

"_My dedicated hero hobby against your half-assed villain hobby. Even if that's all I had, I'd still win."_

"_Why? Why are you still stronger? After everything I've put myself through? No… it's unfair. You are… the unfairness of the world, given form."_

"_It's just that you lack resolve. Uniting the world through perfect evil? Because there's something wrong with the world as it is right now? But, Garou… if that's how you feel, then somewhere inside, you have a vision of the world the way it should be, don't you?"_

_The Hero Hunter's eyes widened in shock._

"_That isn't the sort of vision a villain would have. No… that's a hero's vision, a hero's ideal."_

_All around him, Garou felt his world crumble. Everything he'd told himself was true, everything he'd built himself up to believe in, everything he'd held on to with every last ounce of strength in his being… had been shattered._

"_Your mistake was to lower the hurdle right before the jump," whispered the titan standing in front of him. His ordinary stature belied the godlike strength he possessed: in every way, this man was what Garou wished he could be. Even his attire, a simple yellow jumpsuit and a white cape, torn and tattered from the battle, was wreathed in his majesty. Fittingly, despite all his power, this man, Saitama, had no delusions of grandeur. Even after utterly crushing the Hero Hunter, there was nothing in his demeanour that suggested that he considered his opponent beneath him._

_The black clouds above vanished as Garou's demonic transformation faded, leaving him once more human._

_The fight had continued through the night, and now the sun had risen, shining through the dark._

_As its rays descended, they illuminated Saitama, and Garou, for the first time since he had embarked on his journey, felt humbled. He had been defeated. He did not grudge this fact. He looked at Saitama, who was only known publicly as a mere B-Class, who received no acknowledgement from the majority of the so-called S-Class, and who went largely unappreciated by the people. Yes, this was a man who was not a hero for fortune or fame. Not like the many he had known throughout his life who had aspired to that title merely for the privileges it afforded._

_This was a true hero._

"_I see," said Garou. As he accepted his loss, regret swept through him for a moment. Not at the fact that he hadn't been strong enough. But at the fact that he'd settled for the second option. That he'd spent his life trying to do one thing because he was afraid he'd fail at the thing he really wanted to do._

_If only life gave second chances._

"_It's all over, isn't it?"_

_The bald hero in front of him looked puzzled._

"_Eh? If you went wrong, all you have to do is try again. You're young, there's still time. Try again, and this time, do the thing you really want to."_

_The former Hero Hunter might have been imagining things, but for a moment, he could have sworn Saitama had the tiniest hint of a smile on his face._

_He let out a breath of relief._

"_Yeah. I guess I can. But… do I even deserve another chance?"_

"_Hey, I'm no judge or jury, and I'm no executioner either. You didn't kill anyone, did you? Far as I'm concerned, I have no reason to kill you. Just go on your way, and don't hurt people again. Oh yeah, don't dine and dash either."_

"_Heh."_

_Garou began to rise to his feet, but before he could do so, he felt agony explode in his throat, and spiral out to the rest of his body._

_The hand that had been thrust through his spine, oesophagus and trachea was drawn back out, splattering the warrior's blood over the ground._

_Garou blinked. Though he perfectly comprehended what had happened, he was still surprised._

_He heard a familiar voice from behind him._

"_Since you won't finish him, I did."_

_Sweet Mask was his name. Garou remembered it well. He had studied all the top heroes: their names, strengths and weaknesses._

_Yet, despite the underhanded blow, Garou could not bring himself to feel anger against the one who had dealt it. He had been angry all his life. And in the final fight, against the greatest opponent he had ever faced, he had unleashed and released it all._

'So I guess that's it then," _he thought, as his consciousness began to fade. _'So much for that second chance.'__

_His vision had already gone, leaving his world black. Slowly, the darkness drowned out all his senses, seemed to blanket his very being, almost comfortingly. A pleasant numbness was taking over, proof that he was dying. He couldn't even feel the pain of his injuries anymore._

_As Garou's body died, his soul began to ascend, destined for the afterlife. _

_He was perfectly aware of what he was experiencing, could feel himself rising, about to leave the world of the living, and move on to another place._

_But suddenly, he felt himself being drawn, as by a force of some kind._

_It was not a force drawing him into the afterlife._

_Rather, it was pulling in the other direction._

_Yet, he sensed it did not originate from the world he had just left._

_And… it certainly was not pulling him towards the world he had just left._

_Despite having no physical senses, Garou could hear the words. Strictly speaking, they were not actually verbal. Instead, the information was being transmitted into his very being in its purest form, not requiring words to trap meaning._

_He was conveyed a need, and a message, and an image._

_The image of a world with a shattered moon._

_A world living in fear._

"_**A world in need of a hero. Will you answer that call, Garou?"**_

In his soul was burned forever the image of the man who had shown him the truth.

A truth which he now spoke, from his very soul.

"_I will answer the call."_****

Garou awoke. The process of gaining consciousness was instantaneous. As he opened his eyes, he immediately felt them water, as the wind tore at them, buffeting his body. He recognized the sensation of free fall, a feeling he was very familiar with. Right away, his instincts kicked in. Spreading his arms wide, he stabilized his orientation, even as he continued to plummet. Looking down, he could see that he must be several hundred feet in the air. Far below, he could see the forest terrain stretching into the distance.

He swore. The height was too great, and his trajectory unfavourable. If he had some kind of forward momentum, he would be able to use the trees below to slow down the landing. But right now, he was heading straight down, like a meteor. There was no way to slow his descent, or break his fall. He remembered one of the advanced monster forms he had been able to achieve during his evolution in the fight against Saitama. It had possessed wings, and they had been functional. Right now, they would have been a huge advantage. He did not bother searching within himself to see if he could assume that form again: he knew it was pointless. He could not feel the intense emotion, and along with it, the dark energy that was necessary to transform into a monster. No, he would have to do this as a human.

Seeing no way to avoid the meeting with the ground, he decided to face it head on.

It would be a sick joke to have been brought back to life only to end up squashed like a bug. But he was damned if he wouldn't face his fate with everything he had.

Angling himself downwards so that he was at an almost ninety degree angle to the ground, he prepared himself.

Within moments, the top of the tree cover was within reach, and he swung both his arms outwards in a violent slashing motion. The air pressure and his projected bio-energy, his Ki, cut through the numerous branches that would have smashed into him, clearing the path to the forest floor.

Contracting his abdominal muscles, he flipped over in the air, so that his feet were now pointed downwards.

"HAAAAAAAA!"

With a powerful roar, he prepared to land.

Not all the preparation in the world would be able to disperse the force if his body wasn't capable of handling it, however. With no forward momentum, it was pointless to try to break into a roll. He decided to simply land.

The sensation of his feet coming into contact with the ground was followed by a thunderous sound. He bent his knees and lowered his torso, supporting himself with one arm as well.

The force transferred through his body… but he did not break.

For a moment, he wondered if he simply hadn't felt it yet.

Then, to his surprise, he rose to his feet, and his muscles didn't scream in protest. His bones did not give way.

He looked around. His landing had caused an impact crater, a massive depression in the forest floor, ten feet wide both ways, and three feet deep. All around, trees had been uprooted from the shockwave.

'_I'm… not hurt at all?'_

He looked at his hands, then down at his torso and legs.

He hadn't possessed that level of strength before his monster transformation.

He had been growing at an accelerated pace since the beginning of his hero hunt. At the time, he hadn't stopped to ask or wonder how his body might be gaining abilities far beyond what was humanly possible, and so quickly at that. Some heroes in his world had been born with genetic structures that gave superhuman physical abilities. Others achieved them through cybernetic enhancement or mutation due to toxic exposure. Those who gained their power through training were limited by the maximum potential of the human body, which Garou had surpassed even back then. Looking back, he remembered one of the Monster Associations' members talking about how genetic mutation could be triggered by negative emotion. Garou quickly deduced that the growth of dark Ki in the body must trigger these changes.

'_That must have been why I was growing stronger. And it seems I've kept the power I gained during those battles.'_

He certainly wasn't complaining. That strength had just saved his life. He felt an emotion he hadn't experienced in a while: gratitude.

He clenched his fist, looking at it for a moment.

'_Where am I?' _

He clearly remembered dying. There was no way he could have survived Sweet Mask's attack. While he possessed his strength, he doubted he had the same level of regenerative power he had held during his time as a full fledged monster.

But if he had died, was this the afterlife?

He snorted at the thought of it.

Somehow, he didn't think that was the case.

From all around, he could feel the signs of life. The trees. The numerous small animals that lived in the forest. And…

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

A human screaming?

Before he could question anything, he rushed forward in the direction of the voice, dashing past trees like a flowing river.

Up ahead, the tree cover came to an end. He burst into the clearing, and looking up, saw a girl falling from the sky.

'What the actual fuck?'

Once more, his body moved on its own, and he leapt up and forwards, grabbing her out of the air before landing safely.

"Woooah!"

The falling girl was clothed entirely in white with red accents. Her hair was silver, and even her skin was pale like snow. Startled blue eyes looked into his own.

Garou put her down, scanning the skies instead, trying to figure out why she had been falling.

'Did she die and get thrown into this world too? What is this? Reincarnation day?'

"T-thanks," the girl said quietly.

Garou turned to look at her, but did not reply.

He scanned the area. They appeared to be standing close to some kind of circular platform. On it were several stone stands, atop which were…

"Chess pieces?"

"Ah! Those must be the Relics."

So saying, the silver-haired girl rushed forward to claim one of them. As she did so, Garou noticed that they were not alone. There were others present there.

"WEEEISSS!"

A loud voice rang out, and a black and red blur sped forward, right at Snow White.

"You're safe!" cried the blur, which was revealed to actually be a young girl clad in a manner that reminded Garou somewhat of the Gothic fashion that had been so popular at manga conventions back in his own world.

She was attempting to get closer to Snow White, who was resolutely backing away, and looked to be getting angrier by the second.

"You! This all happened because of _your_ stupid schemes! Are you completely incapable of intelligent strategy in battle?"

"Hey, you were the one who got caught."

"Why, you…"

Leaving those two to argue, Garou decided to observe the others present.

Yet another girl was walking forward towards them, this one holding one of the chess pieces in her hand. She was clad in a brown jacket that seemed somewhat military-like, along with tight black shorts. Her long hair was golden, and her lilac eyes were focused on Garou, curiously examining him.

"Say, Rubes, you never said you brought a friend. Who's the new guy?"

The one addressed as "Rubes" was apparently the girl with a liking for Gothic fashion, who now turned to regard Garou.

"No idea," she said.

"He saved my life," said Snow White, whose true name, if Garou had caught it right, was Weiss.

"Umm… guys?"

This from a fourth girl, black haired, dressed in black and white, and for some reason… had cat ears?

'_Monster traits?' _wondered Garou.

Yet, she seemed to be on at least neutral terms with the other girls. Garou couldn't sense dark Ki from any of them either.

'_They aren't monsters…'_

"I think we should move," continued the Cat Girl.

Garou had already heard the sounds.

Something was approaching, from the sky.

Looking up, he saw the massive Nevermore circling above. To Garou, who was unfamiliar with this new world, it looked like a bird-type monster he might find back in the world where he had once lived. Except…

'_This thing has no Ki?'_****

But that was impossible for any living being. Unless…

"It's not alive at all," Garou murmured.

Before he could think further on the matter, he heard more sounds, this time heavy footsteps and crashing trees.

From the clearing, four more individuals ran out, two boys and two girls… who were being chased by a giant Scorpion.

The Deathstalker furiously ran forward, snapping at their heels, destroying the foliage around it as it attempted to snap its prey with its pincers.

"Guy, I really think we should move!" said the Cat Girl again.

"Yeah, no arguments here!" replied the golden-haired one, and all of them made a run for it, heading towards the cliff face up ahead.

Looking back, however, they noticed that Garou was not with them.

"What the-?"

They saw him still at the edge of the forest, facing down the charging Deathstalker.

"No!" cried Weiss. "Don't just stand there, run!"

But Garou wasn't listening.

This mysterious creature that, for all intents and purposes, was a corpse without a soul, had gotten Garou's interest.

As Garou faced the beast, he couldn't help but wonder.

'Why am I doing this?'

He was no longer interested in hunting heroes. Indeed, that goal had been meaningless from the start. Nor was he interested in fighting monsters to show them what a true monster should be.

Why then?

Was it simply to satisfy his thirst for battle?

But looking within himself, Garou couldn't feel the hunger, the thirst that had burned within him constantly during his hero hunting days.

While a part of him acknowledged that he still enjoyed the thrill of an even fight… he was no longer interested in seeking out combat wherever he went, and fighting just for the sake of fighting.

He didn't really have a reason to fight this creature.

He could easily escape. It had nowhere near the speed required to catch him.

In that moment, an image flashed in his mind.

The image that had burned itself into his very soul, during the last moments of his life back in his old world.

The image of Saitama, smiling, giving him a second chance.

'_A true hero._

_I do have a second chance, don't I?_

_A chance to do right.'_

That was it.

There were people behind him. He knew they were armed. But… from the fact that they ran, it was clear they weren't completely confident about facing these creatures.

And he couldn't just leave them like that.

As the eight new prospective entrants to Beacon looked in awe, Garou threw a straight punch… that cracked the Deathstalker's armoured plating and utterly smashed him to pieces.

Without wasting a moment, Garou grabbed hold of one its pincers, and bracing with his leg, tore it off. Aiming carefully, he thew it like a javelin into the sky, right at the Nevermore.

It was just as well, since the Deathstalker's broken body and all its parts disappeared a moment later, as all Grimm do when they are destroyed.

Before than could happen through, the Nevermore had already been stabbed in the heart by it. Soon, it too disappeared.

With his targets dispatched, he turned to look at the eight others, each of whom was staring at him in shock.

"Who- who are you?"

"My name is Garou… and I'm a hero."


End file.
